What Should I Do?
by ProfTweety
Summary: Tag to 3.15. Rusty has waited a few days to see if Ricky and Emily tell Sharon their secret about Jack. When they don't, he goes to a friend to vent and possibly get some advice.


_**What Should I do?**_

**Disclaimer**: None of these characters are mine; James Duff, et al, has that lovely distinction.

**A/N**: Tag to 3.15. Rusty has waited a few days to see if Ricky and Emily tell Sharon their secret about Jack. When they don't, he goes to a friend to vent and possibly get some advice. I'm always happy to hear comments of any kind. Hope you enjoy!

~~~~~PT~~~~~

He hated that they weren't telling her what they learned about Jack. The first thing Sharon promised him was honesty; the second was a family with her. While he knew he was sometimes slow being honest with her, in the end he always was.

Now his new siblings trusted him with their secret but he disagreed with them…Sharon, their mother, needed to know. But while Sharon was mother to _all_ of them, Jack was _not_ his father. Ricky and Emily had made up their minds about _their_ _parents_ and it wasn't his place to tell her.

Christmas Eve the pact was made between them. Rusty had hoped once Christmas passed, they would be able to break it but nothing had changed. Not even her looks at him like she _knew_ he was hiding something. He understood Ricky and Emily but he had his own point of view, based on living with Sharon and based on his experiences with his biological mother.

He just kept coming back to the same thought: she _deserved_ to know, to not be blindsided, because she'd find out eventually and probably in the _worst_ way possible, knowing Jack.

The knock at the door surprised them. Upon seeing who it was the surprised look wasn't hidden very well at all. "You're lucky you found me here. Patrice doesn't like hanging out at my place too much."

Smirking, "Gee, I wonder why." His eyes roamed around, seeing that most of the usual mess had been removed. "I'm sorry to interrupt, Lt, but I gotta talk to you, please, like right now."

"Come in, Kid. Is it about your mother again?" They walked into the living room. Acknowledging Patrice, he made introductions, "Patrice, Rusty; Rusty, Patrice. " Looking at her, he added, "Patrice was just going to make us some coffee, you want some too?"

"Yes, please, and uh thank you. I didn't mean to interrupt."

"Nonsense, Louie and I have plenty of time to spend together since we didn't make it to Laguna. Excuse me, the coffee is calling me." She walked over to the kitchen and busied herself while the men spoke.

Smiling, he sat on the floor by the coffee table facing the Lt. "She seems nice."

"She spends time with _me_, doesn't she?" He shrugged, "What brings you here?"

"Sharon, I mean, like, from the beginning, okay."

"Always the best place to start."

"Jack wanted Emily to stay with him. Even though she wanted to stay with Sharon, she gave in. She calls it a shitty place and doesn't like being there." He hesitated. "She found something out and told me and Ricky and they don't want Sharon to know but like _I_ think she should."

"What's the ass done now?"

"He dropped out of AA."

"Well, not everyone needs meetings. I never pictured Jack as an AA kind of guy anyway."

"But Lt Flynn still goes. He talks about it like it's no big thing."

"That's because for him it's not. Andy's been sober a very long time and he's smart enough to realize those meetings help him stay that way."

"But what Jack is like too good for them?"

"Yeah, something like that, Kid."

Pulling up his legs, he rested his chin on his knees. "Emily brought over all the wine bottles she found in his trash."

"Ah, so that's the secret. The asshole is _drinking_ again." He waved for Patrice to come in with the coffees. "Of course he is. His life is finally good, he's got solid work, so he goes ahead and starts drinking again."

"Ricky and Emily think what Sharon doesn't know won't hurt her. But I know Sharon. She _hates_ being lied to. She _hates_ being blindsided. And she raised her kids to be good people who don't act like Jack."

"If you don't mind, Rusty, I have a question." Patrice waited for his nod in the affirmative. "What makes you think they're acting like their father because of lie _about_ _him_ when they could see it as _protecting_ their _mother_?"

"They _do_ see it that way." He let his legs fall and sat cross-legged, sipping his coffee. "But I know Sharon hates to be lied to. Like, you totally have to have a _very_ _good_ reason not to tell _that_ _woman_ the truth."

Patrice spoke softly, reminding him of Sharon. "I was an ER nurse for a long time, Rusty, and one of the first things I learned was that in crisis divisions happen quickly."

"Well Jack is drinking again and like I know from my mom and her boyfriends that he _is_ in crisis, Patrice. Can I call you that, like call you Patrice?" he asked nervously.

"Of course you can, Rusty."

Provenza grunted. "What Patrice is getting at, Rusty, is that Ricky and Emily had a decision to make about _their_ father. They shared their secret with you as their brother, not as Sharon's son or her keeper."

"But she has _always_ told me the truth."

"Yes, but Jack is their father not yours. Sharon took care of Daniel for you." Looking at Patrice, he quickly explained to her. "When he found out about him, he had the kid for an overnight visit and beat the crap out of him. The Captain decided not to shoot him, fortunately, so she offered him a choice to sign away his parental rights or be arrested for as many charges as she could make stick. He decided to sign and walk away."

"Oh," Patrice sighed, "and your mom is in jail and Sharon adopted you so you live with your mother who is very protective of her children and whose ex-husband doesn't sound like a nice guy and has now relapsed."

"Yeah, it can sound complicated sometimes. Look, Lt, I _know_ addiction okay and I _know_ that addicts lie and they blame everyone else for their problems." He stood up to pace. "I _know_ Jack gamed Sharon over the years. He, like, totally played her and she's sensitive to things that remind her of that."

"I know she is, Kid, and Jack, well, Jack, Flynn and me, we used to drink together sometimes so _I_ know Jack too. He can be a nasty drunk."

Putting her hand on the Lt's knee, Patrice asked, "What are you afraid of, Rusty?"

"That they're lying to her and she'll find out and she'll be," hesitating, "hurt. She'll be hurt that her kids knew it and kept it from her." He sat back down, sipping his coffee. "That _all_ of her kids knew."

"What else are you afraid of?" she gently pushed.

"What if Jack shows up drunk when he goes to defend somebody you guys arrested?" He ran his hand through his hand. "What then, huh?"

"We got her back at work, Kid." He shifted forward on the couch. "You really think _Flynn_ is gonna let something happen to her?"

"No," he acknowledged quietly, "cuz like he's her friend and he cares about her as _Sharon_."

"We care about her as our _Captain_ but that's enough for us to do our best to protect her. Look, Rusty, Jack doesn't stand a chance at work."

"What if he gets her alone? What if he goes to our house and he's drunk and I'm not there? Flynn is only there when they go on their non-dates. What if she's alone?"

"The Capt- uh Sharon can take care of herself, Rusty, and she's got a _gun_. Look, Kid, she knows what Jack is like when he's drunk. She'll handle him. _She_ _always_ _has_."

"What if I'm there? She gets all protective of her kids. It's nice to have a mother who like does that for me but it takes her attention off herself. So what if I'm there, Lt?"

"Then you let her take care of you and you," he pointed at him, "take care of her."

"If he hurts her,…" he got up to pace again. "I'll…," sitting back down, "What then, Lt, what if he _hurts_ her? And _I_ knew but went along with Ricky and Emily. I could've saved her," he lowered his voice, "like she saved me."

"First of all, she doesn't expect repayment. Second of all, Jack is not your father. His kids held the truth and it isn't your secret to tell. Third of all, he may never show up at her house."

"But he has before and she feels bad for him and lets him in or he just lets himself in." He shrugged. "At least she changed the locks."

"She lets him in so he doesn't disturb her neighbors. She's like that. She's got all of us in her phone contacts. I swear _I'm_ on speed dial. She calls me, I call everyone else. We're there faster than you can freak out. _Flynn'll_ probably be first." He sighed. "Just don't let him kill Jack before I'm there to witness it, uh, be a witness for the paperwork and all that."

"Okay, fine, but I feel terrible keeping this from her and if something happens to her, if Jack hurts her, I'm gonna feel _horrible_, Lt."

"I know you will, Rusty, and so will Ricky and Emily." He gulped his coffee, wishing it was something less non-alcoholic. "The point is, as hard as it will be, it'll end up being a good lesson learned."

Scrunching his face, "At Sharon's expense though."

"Sharon will be fine. You just keep your mouth shut so Ricky and Emily know they can trust you with future secrets. This way you always know what's going on."

"That's how Sharon thinks too."

"Oh God, the woman is rubbing off on me."

"You know you like it, Lt," he teased, "and you like _her_ too."

"_Now_ I do, since she's been with Major Crimes but when she was in IA, _none_ of us liked her. Not even Flynn, her puppy love friend."

Smiling, "She's a good person, Lt."

"Yes, she is and if you ever tell her I said that, I'll deny it."

Standing, "Fair enough, well, uh thanks for listening and um the advice. Sorry for interrupting like whatever old people do together um other than talk and drink coffee."

"Get out, Kid," the Lt grumbled playfully. As they stood at the door, he put his hand on Rusty's shoulder. "Look, Kid, Sharon is lucky to have you watching out for her. Just do it so she doesn't pick up on it. _Do_ _not_ give your siblings' secret away. Make sure you keep me updated, will ya."

"I will, Lt, thanks again."

Closing the door, he returned to his seat on the couch. "Better get used to him, Patrice, for some reason he _likes_ me."

[The End]


End file.
